self ownership

Windham (NH) School District Bans Dodgeball

Dodgeball has been banned in Windham schools, due to concerns about violence and bullying, with the School Board voting 4-1 to remove dodgeball and nine other “human target” activities from the district’s curriculum. “We spend a lot of time making sure our kids are violence free. Here we have games where we use children as targets. That seems to be counter to what we are trying to accomplish with our anti-bullying campaign.”

The bears who like to get high:

The bears who like to get high: Russian animals are so addicted to aviation fuel they sniff it until they pass out
These brown bears are keen to play with discarded barrels - because they have developed a nose for aviation fuel.
The creatures sniff kerosene and gasoline from containers left in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve in the far east of Russia.
They take deep breaths for minutes at a time before digging a shallow hole and lying in a 'nirvana' position.

Self-Sustaining Communities

This episode of the Survival Podcast by Jack Spirko is an interesting example and I think a great idea of how to start a self sustaining community. It also could be the basis for a government-less society?? Perhaps a discussion/debate on the topic would prove enlightening.

Bathroom "Pay" System at Elem School Causes 7 Year Old to Pee in Pants

A Texas mother says she’s outraged after learning that her 7-year-old son’s teacher makes students “pay” to use the bathroom. "I was absolutely appalled," Sonja Cross told NBC 5. "I could not believe it." The J.O. Davis Elementary teacher requires students to pay for trips to the toilet with “Boyd Bucks,” fake money the first-year instructor uses to reward the children for good behavior. Cross said she found out about the unusual system after her son wet his pants during school because he didn’t have enough “Boyd Bucks” for a bathroom run.

Man charged with terroristic threat for tattoo of pig

A 20-year-old St. Louis Park man was charged today in Hennepin County District Court with one count of making a terroristic threat for allegedly posting a picture on his Facebook page of a tattoo on his left biceps that depicts a pig wearing a police hat and uniform, as well as the name of the officer on the uniform patch.

Condoms In Porn In Los Angeles Will Now Be Mandated On Set

Despite strong outcry against it from the adult film industry, a measure requiring porn performers to wear condoms on set was passed by LA County voters, with 56% of the vote. The "Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act'," in addition to mandating condoms, will require porn producers to apply for a permit from the LA County Dept of Public Health to shoot sex scenes. The fee will finance periodic inspections of porn filming, and violations will be subject to civil fines and criminal misdemeanor charges. 1.2 million people thought this was a good idea.

Visionary fined $200,000 for home 'improvements'

LAGUNITAS, Calif. - Four decades ago, Hoffman started some home improvements on his house in the wooded hills of the Marin County town of Lagunitas. He harbored ideas and theories of how people could live more sustainably. He started building. “I guess you could say I had a vision,” said Hoffman. “I had a dream.”

But Hoffman’s vision had one very fatal flaw. He never got permits for any of his projects. His fines have run up to over $200,000, and he’s been ordered to tear down all 30 of his illegal structures by Aug. 1.

Los Angeles Police Arrest Numerous People for Chalking

Los Angeles police said Friday that they have arrested numerous people for chalking downtown in the weeks leading up to ArtWalk. Protesters organized a "Chalk Walk" during Thursday's monthly ArtWalk in downtown Los Angeles to "celebrate our right to free speech and remind the LAPD and the city of Los Angeles that chalking is NOT a crime." Los Angeles Police has been arresting people who have marked downtown with chalk. The chalkers have been targeting the area around the Central City Assn, as the "lobby group of the 1%," according to a handout distributed at ArtWalk.